Hi there!
I hope you had a great week and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms
What a week it was!
We made serious progress on the new garden and let me be the first to tell you how amazing it looks so far! My assistant gardener was here for a few days helping us fix all the drainage and get the rest of that liriope and pachysandra out of the beds.
It was so much work and there were a lot more drainage issues than we realized before undertaking the task of cleaning this bed out. So good thing I wanted to remove all of that ground cover because this bed was a hot mess before making it look better. It is starting to take shape! What do you think?
A Little Story
To fix some of the drainage, I had to shop around for some river rock. The last nursery we purchased from, I love, but their price was kind of high. So I stopped by another local nursery that I saw had the kind of stone we wanted. I’ve never shopped there before so I figured…why not stop in?
As I was perusing the pallets of rock, their prices were really good. They didn’t have much out in the way of plants because it is still early yet but the price per pallet was great! So I thought to myself, this could be a winner!
The owner approached me and I kid you not, was mansplaining me the entire time about rock, plants, and everything related to such. *eyeroll.
As I was giving him my address and order information, he was writing none of it down and telling me yeah yeah yeah I know where you are etc. Um…okay.
So the morning of delivery, he delivered to a house 100 numbers off of mine. I received a phone call that no one was home and they didn’t know where to put the stone. I said…I am home and you are at the wrong house. Whoops! Maybe if he spent a little more time listening to me about my address he would have gotten the delivery right.
But that’s not all!
So the guys delivered a few truckloads of stone. I didn’t go out and inspect right away because I let them do their thing and I was working on other things.
When my assistant arrived to move the stone to the garden for drainage, he texted me and said – this isn’t the river rock you ordered. So I ran outside and sure enough – they dropped off a bunch of 12-15″ boulders when I asked for 5-8″ river rock and pointed to the pallet that I wanted. UGH.
So I called the nursery owner and he wanted me to send him a picture to his cell phone and just started ordering his cell phone number to me like I had a paper and pen handy. I was like sir, give me a break here.
Had he not mansplained me the entire time I was at the nursery while I was telling him what I wanted to order and giving him my address, he probably would have delivered to the right place and given me the correct order!
If there is one thing that drives me nuts is when I walk into a car repair place or deal with any sort of service person, to be mansplained and spoken down to. I wish they knew how awful they sounded and how stupid I think they are for telling me how it is instead of LISTENING. He might as well have called me “toots” during the conversation with his tone and manner.
But you know what? He corrected all his mistakes and I got the stone for a great price so would I order again from there for a pallet of stone? Yes! Would I stop in to buy anything else? 100% No. So there’s that.
Spring Plantings
I dropped by one of my favorite local nurseries and snagged some pansies, ranunculus, lettuce, cilantro, and dill.
Now you might be thinking what will you do with your plants after planting when it’s supposed to get cold again next week? And that’s a great question!
Pansies are cold-tolerant flowering annuals, so they thrive in cooler temps. Here in my zone 6b garden if you plant them in the fall, they overwinter well and bounce back in the spring. This means I can get two seasons out of them instead of just one. So the ones I just planted this week? They’ll be fine!
I did also pot up a planter with ranunculus and cordyline while also planting some lettuce and cool-season herbs – that I may cover if the temperatures drop low enough but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. We’ll see.
I also started my gomphrena, yarrow, ageratum, bells of Ireland and strawflowers from seed this week. My snapdragons all sprouted under the lights so I just removed the covers from them this week too.
What I’m Shopping For This Week
I’ve been doing some shopping for garden accessories this week and found some great stuff you should check out!
- LOVE LOVE LOVE these garden spheres as a hanging basket!!!! Aren’t they so cool? I want to the medium and large and look for a place that’s close to a water source with a good strong tree limb to hang them from. I could hang them from the porch but I think I want them out in the beds somewhere.
- I also want to get this topiary frame for some planters that I have. I love that look don’t you? They will add some architecture to the gardens. Chris will love that.
- And I’m also loving this beautiful urn planter too. I think I want to tuck it in the new cottage garden.
I also did some shopping around for myself – I love vintage tee-shirts and wanted to spruce up my look for spring. Here are a few things I bought.
- This sling bag.
- This printed kimono.
- Love this t-shirt, this one, love this, and this one. I usually layer my tees with a kimono or cardigan depending on the weather for a boho look.
Garden Supplies I Bought
With the season well underway, I am stocking up! Here’s what I bought this week
- I like to use a good-quality, potting soil, garden soil, compost, and perlite when planting, so I picked up some bags so I’m ready to go as I pick up plants and divide perennials.
- Deer are a huge problem here. I use this deer repellent with great success. But now, I’m all about this deer repellent that is systemic instead of topical. This means the plant takes it in as opposed to it just smelling bad. Since it is so early in the growing season, I want to start applying this one early so there’s less maintenance to do long term.
- Where pest and disease problems are concerned, if I need to, I generally use this insecticidal soap or neem oil to help control infestations depending on the issue. So I’m stocking up on a few bottles so I’m ready to go when issues crop up.
- I also bought my favorite set-and-forget slow-release fertilizer for houseplants, annuals, and container gardens. This is a must-have for continual blooms and lots of healthy growth!
- I use this organic fertilizer and ran out after feeding my roses two weeks ago. So I needed to get more.
What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms
It was a fun week on the blog!
Margaret’s Marvelous Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Want to bake authentic Irish soda bread like a pro? This family favorite recipe from my good friend Margaret is easy, delicious, and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Growing Gomphrena
Are you craving vibrant, low-maintenance blooms? Look no further than Gomphrena! This easy-care flower boasts endless summer color and long-lasting beauty. Learn how to grow and care for globe amaranth with these simple tips.
Lessons Learned Growing Cut Flowers From Seed Indoors
Learn valuable lessons I learned from my seed-to-bloom journey. Discover which varieties thrived indoors and which ones I’d skip next time!
How to Keep Fresh Flowers Longer
Stop throwing away your flowers and follow these simple hacks to extend their vase life dramatically. Learn how to keep fresh flowers longer in a few simple steps.
Homemade Weed Killer With Vinegar
Looking for easy ways to get rid of weeds naturally? This post shares a simple recipe for homemade weed killer with vinegar that works, plus some bonus methods to kill weeds naturally.
Easy Chicken Salad With Grapes
Craving a classic? Wait until you try this easy chicken salad with grapes sandwich that can be ready in 15 minutes!
Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web
I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.
- This blooming wreath DIY is incredible!
- Wait until you see how good this roadside planter looks after it’s makeover! Wow!
- This DIY tulip wreath.
- These tips for updating cherry cabinets without painting!
If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.
And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.
Viral Apple Dump Cake: The Dessert Taking the Internet by Storm
Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece Idea: Turn Pumpkins into Vases!
Drying Herbs: The Easiest Way to Preserve Your Harvest
The Lazy Person’s Guide to Spider Plant Care
How to Overwinter Dahlia Tubers for More Blooms Next Year
Sustainable Fall DIY Decor: Craft Ideas for a Greener Home
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
